


Balance

by vanishedSchism



Category: Godsfall Podcast D&D Campaign
Genre: A Johnny Cash fic as my friend says, Aram did it first, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, it's a fight with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 21:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12067629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishedSchism/pseuds/vanishedSchism
Summary: Tiago is not the one whose ribs are about to be crushed by the God of Force, but he feels his heart stutter all the same.





	Balance

In the ideal situation, the plan that Cyril and the boss had been so excited about, the mooks less fortunate and powerful than Tiago would distract the godlings while Tiago and Cyril went in back to back and split them apart. 

Together, Cyril and Tiago were invincible. They couldn't be more different, Tiago having realized long ago that his skills lay in reactions in the moment and not complex plans that required understanding what other people were thinking. Tiago didn't understand other people for the most part. He saw their motivations, Lefluer wanted, he wanted power, he wanted adoration, he wanted people who needed him (Tiago needed him) and he was willing to do anything to get those wants. Dorro, the halfling that everyone hated so much, was motivated by guilt and revenge. Cyril... Tiago hadn't known what Cyril wanted until the man whispered it in his ear, one hand on Tiago's back and another on his stomach, his lips close enough to brush against Tiago's ear. 

Control. Balance. You. 

Tiago could give him two out of three. It was enough. 

He trusted Cyril in a way that he trusted very very few people. A sister who no longer mattered, Lefluer who had _bought_ that trust, and his own unerring hand. Cyril was just as unerring. He moved when Tiago did, slower, but with the same count, so that they could synchronize their movements, Tiago would stab three times and Cyril freeze the opponent, and then they would move onto the next. 

A perfect plan if not for the girl. 

Salvageable if not for Tiago's weakness. 

They were separated almost immediately, living shadow tearing into Tiago as its bulk pushed Cyril away. He fought it, killed it quickly even, but another had already taken its place and shadow filled his ears, mouth, nose and eyes. 

He can't hear or see so he attacks the creature where it attacks him, taking a blow for every one he delivers. His blade is more deadly, but his torn flesh drips with blood by the time the shadowflesh parts and the world floods with light and sound. He rushes forward, more concerned about getting trapped by another shadow beast than the potential danger of running blind into a battlefield. 

An arrow whizzes toward his head and he catches it, though its tip scratches his hand. He recognizes the poison almost immediately. 

He has to end this quickly then. 

He surveys the battlefield, cutting down two more arrows as his senses return to him and he gets his bearings. The girl is out for the count. Lefluer will want him to grab her if they have time, but her acquisition is less important than his survival. 

The boss is trapped between the God of Travel and the God of Force, looking absolutely ridiculous with that rapier he barely knows how to hold and a stricken expression on his face. Tiago recognizes that expression, knows the con the baron is pulling, just as he knows that _he's_ expected to swoop in and save the day when Lefluer stops playing for time. 

Tiago glances behind him, trusting the Baron to hold his own for just a moment while he searches for Cyril, just in case he's also caught under a shadow monster. 

He's not, but he's squaring off against three godlings. He's thrown the God of Beasts, currently taking the form of a large Boar, toward Rivers and the shadow girl. Rivers, normally one of the most dangerous godlings, can't respond, either because he's unwilling to hurt his friend or because the girl has collapsed onto him, and Cyril, seeing his chance, grins as he moves the God of Beasts' head just so, so that the tusk plunges straight into Rivers. 

Four Gods scream in unison and fire explodes across the room. 

Tiago recovers quickly, used to ignoring pain and more concerned about Cyril than himself. 

Cyril is alive, though barely keeping his feet. He's lost control of the God of Beasts, that's clear at a glance, and the Rivers boy is wearing an expression Tiago knows far too well. He's already started moving when a gasp calls his attention to the man he's _supposed_ to be worrying about. 

Lefluer is suspended at least eight feet in the air by a hand made entirely of force magic. 

"Call off... your dogs," the God of Force grits out, his own cloak smoking on his shoulders. 

The halfling knows enough not to trust anything Lefluer is about to say and disappears with a _bwoosh_.

Tiago is not the one whose ribs are about to be crushed by the God of Force, but he feels his heart stutter all the same. 

He runs toward the godling. Maybe if he cuts him down quickly enough he'll have enough time to run and rescue-

That thought cuts off when he hears Cyril's deep voice abruptly raise in a scream that just as abruptly ends. 

Tiago feels himself scream in response. _That's balance_ , Cyril would have said, his smile as soft and warm as the hand that would be cupping Tiago's cheek. How his hands were so soft, Tiago didn't understand... and now would never get the chance to. 

His blade trembles in his hand and he isn't sure if it's because of the arrow's poison or the emotions coursing through him but he does know that the boy in front of him is threatening Lefluer. He shoves his rapier right through the boy's back. 

The God of Force crumples with a gasp, another pained sound tearing out of his throat as he hits the ground. Lefluer wasn't far behind him. 

_Balance_ , Tiago thinks desperately as he yanks the rapier out of the boy's body and plunges it in again and again and again, trying to hit the neck but not really _aiming_ , because what's the point of being the _God of Sport_ if you can't even save your boyfriend. 

_Balance. A life for a life._ That's how it worked right? As long as someone else died Cyril could- but Cyril was gone, but someone should be able to do something shouldn't they? He _died_. Cyril was dead and this godling was dead and one of them shouldn't be, right? Isn't that how balance worked? 

Tiago continues to shake, barely aware as he swipes one arrow out of the air and two more slam into his shoulder. He can hear the distant clash of metal, _a rapier and two daggers_ his mind supplies, and he hears through the haze the sound of his name. 

"Tiago!" 

He drops the rapier. That must be the effect of the poison right? That's why he's so lost, why he's lost his grip on his blade, why he can't feel anything. It must be the poison. Damn elves. 

"Tiago what are you doing, get me out of here!" 

He moves because there's nothing else to do, because the situation demands it and there's one person left to protect. He moves because he's struck balance, he has a chance. He just needs to grab the baron and everything will be fine. 

He'll stop shaking and he'll wipe away the blood and he'll fall into Cyril's warm steady arms. He just has to grab the baron. 

He just has to get Lefluer.


End file.
